Hannah Arendt (1906 - 1975) often cited Cato the Elder (234BC - 149BC) as follows: "Never is he more active than when he does nothing, never is he less alone than when he is by himself.”

In her short essay, “Void,” Iris Murdoch (1919 - 1999) observes, “There is nothing that cannot be broken or taken from us. Ultimately we are nothing. A reminder of our mortality, a recognition of contingency, must at least make us humble. Are we not then closer to the deep mystery of being human? When we find our ordinary pursuits trivial and senseless are we not right to do so? The experience of emptiness may be a shock soon forgotten, or a lifelong reminder, a moral inspiration, even a liberation, a kind of joy….”

This course will probe and explore, through readings and discussions, the variety of experiences associated with nihilism, emptiness, void, non-being (e.g., Sartre’s “le Néant”), and annihilation, in philosophy, psychology, mysticism, Zen Buddhism, literature, film and music.

Authors, composers, and filmmakers whose works will be considered include, but our not restricted to: Hannah Arendt, James Hillman, Adam Phillips, Bill McKibben, Daniel Matt, Jan Zwicky, Isaac Bashevis Singer, Elizabeth Kolbert, Emily Dickinson, Wallace Stevens, T.S. Eliot, Paul McCartney, John Lennon, Bob Dylan, Ethan Coen, Joel Cohen, Patti Smith, Iris Murdoch, Simone Weil, Emmanuel Levinas, Jean Paul Sartre.

No prior requirements.

COURSE FORMAT
This is an interactive online seminar course that meets weekly over 6 weeks. Live online sessions will use the zoom platform. Weekly reading or other forms of materials may be assigned. Weekly sessions will be recorded and available for registered participants to access throughout the course.
There are no papers or grades. This course does not offer any credits or certificates. This course is intended for learning for the love of learning.

COURSE MATERIALS
This course will have all reading materials supplied by the instructor in .pdf form.
Registrants will receive access to the course website and the zoom links about two weeks before the course starts.

COURSE CANCELLATION POLICY
Registrants can cancel and receive a full refund up to September 22. After September 22, there will be no refunds issued.
Yale Alumni College courses are subject to schedule changes as well as cancellations. If Yale Alumni College must cancel any course prior to its start due to low enrollment, you will be notified of this by the cancellation date. Upon cancellation of a course, registrants may transfer their registration to another available course or have the registration fee fully refunded.

In the event of a disruption to the original course schedule, including but not limited to; Professor absence, hazardous weather conditions, or local travel restrictions, Yale Alumni College will do its best to reschedule the missed class for the week immediately following the original end date at the same course time and day.

Photo: The False Mirror, 1928 by Rene Magritte https://www.renemagritte.org/the-false-mirror.jsp